NB: This comment is spoiling parts of Silent Hill 2 and Dead Space.
I have to be honest. I think so -called “cozy games” are somewhat raised.
Stardew Valley Never caught me, My Time at Portia Its visual identity makes me nauseous, and it does not help that all other games in this genre, of which there are a huge number of people, only try to copy them. Cut down some trees here, get a cow there, brew a spiritual witch drink over and over again.
I recognize the quality, appeal and popularity of the games, and played myself Animal Crossing During the pandemic, but for me this is an unattractive genre that gives me little.
I have never tackled heat, and this year the temperatures have been scary high.
As a gamer, summer is also not very fun, as you often feel shame of sitting inside the nice weather. And when you first bring your console outdoors it is too hot for it to be used.
Thus, the autumn is the season I like best. The evenings are getting dark, and the summer explosion of green and blue is replaced by the orange and brown splendor of the fall. The temperature falls and the rest of the evening is periodically drowned by therapeutic raindrops that hit the window.
As Grandpa always said, “September is the most beautiful month of the year”.
It does something to me.
Even before you have taken control of James, Silent Hill is interesting.
Konami
Despite the fact that I and more people find that autumn and winter are heavy to get through, there is something beautiful about the outside world fades and dies. There is a beauty in the dark. Many take advantage of this second half of the year to play “cozy” games.
So what gaming experiences do I search as the evenings get dark, the rain rolls down the window and the news broadcasts are becoming more and more gloomy?
What can I do when “cozy” games don’t give me the escape I look for?
I play horror games, of course.
I love the scary atmosphere, the slow pace, the wonderful created boards and the interesting monsters. But more than everything, I love that this genre is the only place where games explore darker themes that would otherwise not have fit into the medium. The game medium is no stranger to exploring challenging themes, but horror games allow game creators to be brave enough to take a blow into more complex ways to convey nuanced narratives. In cases where this is done effectively, a hugely devoted experience is created.
Ludonarrative dissonance, the conflict between the game’s narrative and the player’s actions, you have to look for a long time here. And when ludonarrative dissonance occurs, you can curse that it is used deliberately.
A magnificent example of the games I am drawn to in this season is Silent Hill 2.
The game follows James Sunderland, a widower who has traveled to the city of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his seemingly deceased wife, Mary. Even before you have taken control of James, the game is interesting. Mary is dead, so it is not she who sent the letter. Or? What if? No. Yes, but how?
Impossible. I’m hooked.
James’s journey through Silent Hill develops to become more of a journey through his own state of mind. Everything from how the monsters are designed, to which areas you are exploring get new meaning, especially on repetitive playing. Everything James does is important for the storytelling, and thus everything you do as a player becomes important. What follows are several hours of intense and engaging gaming, heartbreaking storytelling and deeply disturbing images that make you go deep into yourself and take a closer look at the darkest parts of your own subconscious. And when the carpet is torn away from under you, and the ludonarrative dissonance strikes fully, you are left with one of the most uncomfortable and in-depth art and cultural expressions one can have, regardless of medium.
James’s journey through Silent Hill develops to become more of a journey through his own state of mind.
Konami
On the other side of the spectrum you have horror games that Dead Space.
The year is 2058 and the engineer Isaac Clarke is sent aboard the USG Ishumura spaceship, which has sent out an SOS signal after finding something On the planet it was orbit. This is also happened to be the spacecraft Isaac’s girlfriend, Nicole, was stationed on. Like Silent Hill 2 Uses Dead Space an unreliable protagonist to fram the whole experience, just this time the game is more action -focused.
The spaceship is, of course, infested by carnivorous aliens born of humanity, and these “necromorphs” are not exactly so nice to look at in weak light.
Throughout the game, Isaac is most often tasked with repairing the ship (he is, after all, Ingengjør), in parallel finding out what happened to both the crew and Nicole.
The whole situation feels hopeless, and the narrative does not go on until you dare to take one foot in front of the other, giving the player a sense of huge autonomy. The narrow dark corridors of the spaceship are filled with rust, blood, flashing lights and a soundscape so unlikely that you dare to look around the room. This is accompanied by a combat system that rewards you for breathing with your stomach while howling and sobbing aliens come running towards you as you strategically mutilated them, one body part at a time.
But is this really so cozy?
I struggle with mixed anxiety and depression disorder, and it is not until recently that I have confirmed much of what I have been feeling for several years. I also have a condition that can be described as hypervacity, which causes more anxiety and fatigue.
“Despite the fact that the themes of these games are as far from” cozy “as you come, it gives me a room for relaxation and reflection”.
EA
My days can have a normal course of events, and I can still be worn out at the end of the day when I’ve walked around with high shoulders for hours, for no rational reason. I have strategies to master this; Regular physical activity, noise -reducing headphones with music and good routines are some of what makes the days affordable, but sometimes all the accumulated anxiety gets too much. I go on anxiety -reducing medicine that helps to flatten out the anxiety, but it never stops completely. Of which my cohabitant would have sat down with Stardew Valley or Hogwarts Legacy To lower your shoulders, fall such experiences for me in terms of pulling the curtains, turning off the light, taking the headset, and playing a good horror game.
Horror requires Your attention.
Everything you do is on life and death, and the games give you few or no room to breathe.
Do you stand still in a room? The sound design, which could otherwise need an essay for itself, will scare you enough to get you away.
Don’t you explore the detailed surroundings? Then you won’t get enough resources to take the next monster that comes to take you, or pick up the small details that help tell their own stories.
Don’t you follow these small details? Then you will not get as much out of the game you paid for.
You constantly think about what weapons you have, how much ammunition, health and upgrade material you have, where you are on the board, which route is the safest, and what detours you can take on the road to have the greatest possible survival chance. These games expect a lot from you, not just because they are scary and feel insurmountable, but because the best horror games are constantly utilizing every second of their relative short playing times to ponder you and pull you into their all -consuming worlds and thought -provoking storytelling.
My brain is so completely activated that I do not have time to recognize the anxiety I have in me, as it is exored and used for pure survival instinct, fear and reflection. I can finally lower my shoulders, but in a controlled and engaging environment, which is also a fantastic art and cultural expression in itself.
Although the themes of these games are as far from “cozy” as you come, it gives me a room for relaxation and reflection.
Silent Hills foggy streets and Dead Space Its “necromorphs” are grotesque, dark and distorted mirror images of our own reality, and for me there is no better place to find inner calm in an outside world full of unpredictability, thousands of sensory impressions and a gloomy news image than in horror games.
And it looks like the fall and winter will be a great time for me, with games like Cronos: The New Dawn, Silent Hill f and Resident Evil Requiem just around the corner.
Besides looking Pyramid Head Absolutely insanely cool out.
